Apartments, commercial space proposed in Florida City

By Brian Bandell for South Florida Business Journal

A developer has proposed what would become the first transit-oriented development project in Florida City.

The City Council will hold the first reading for the Ocean Gate Village project on April 12. If approved, the second and final reading would be on April 26. Cordial Holdings, managed by Louis Carricarte in Homestead, wants to rezone the 14-acre site at 75 W. Palm Drive (Southwest 344th Street) from industrial to transit-oriented development and build apartments and commercial space there.

There is no mass transit in Florida City, but it’s near the South Dade TransitWay, a dedicated bus lane where Miami-Dade County is building a bus rapid transit system.

The developer acquired the property, which currently has a vacant agricultural packing plant, for $12.5 million in January. It’s on the west side of Krome Avenue, just north of where it merges into U.S. 1 at the gateway to the Florida Keys.

Miami-based attorney Javier L. Vazquez of Berger Singerman, who represents the developer in the application, said the project would have a mix of apartments and commercial space, with more details to come before the second reading. The staff report on March 10 cited 252 apartments and 110,200 square feet of commercial space, but Vazquez said those plans were subject to change. There would also be a 1-acre park on the southern end of the site.

Miami-based Modis Architects designed the project.

Many more developers are looking further south to Florida City, Homestead and surrounding neighborhoods as it’s easier to find large tracts of land that are relatively affordable there. More people are willing to live far from major employment centers because it’s become more acceptable to work remotely during the pandemic.

“The demographics in Florida City are changing drastically,” Vazquez said. “One of the reasons Florida City is doing so well is because of the infrastructure it has in place. This is a gateway property given its location on 344th Street just off U.S. 1.”

External Source: Ocean Gate Village mixed-use project planned in Florida City – South Florida Business Journal (bizjournals.com)